Auteur/autrice : Jean-Paul

PAF : 10€

Marquise Knox Wins Living Blues Award for Best Debut!
Marquise Nominated for TWO 2010 Blues Blast Awards–
Best New Artist Debut Release And Sean Costello Rising Star Award!
Following His BMA Nomination for Best New Debut Release, Marquise Knox
Has Been Nominated For Two Blues Blast Awards.
“…already poised, confident, and brandishing an arsenal of powerful, no-nonsense vocal and guitar skills that projected not only way beyond his years, but way back to the spirits of the blues masters of yore.”
–      Jim O’Neal Founding Editor / Living Blues Magazine

La découverte de l’année ou quand le futur rencontre le passé !
Ils sont sans doute peu nombreux, les amateurs de Blues français à connaître Marquise Knox, jeune musicien de Saint-Louis (Missouri) au prénom si singulier. Et pour cause, ce musicien n’a que 17 ans et il n’a encore jamais mis le pied de ce côté ci de l’océan Atlantique. Mais ça ne saurait tarder ! Alors, vous vous demandez sans doute où et comment j’ai fait sa découverte ?

Flash back en octobre 2008. Je m’étais rendu à Helena, Arkansas pour assister au “Arkansas blues and heritage festival” (ex King biscuit blues festival), l’un des plus fameux festivals de blues au monde. Il y a là-bas une scène principale et des scènes annexes mais il y a aussi tout au long de la fameuse Cherry street, des musiciens qui jouent dans la rue à des emplacements qui leurs sont spécialement réservés. On y trouvait beaucoup de bluesmen connus des amateurs tels Little Jimmy Reed, Bill Abel, révérend Robert, Terry “harmonica” Bean, KM Williams, Aron Burton etc… Mais il y en avait un qu’on remarquait plus que les autres, qui était en quelques sortes le “roi de Cherry street”, qui créait un énorme attroupement chaque fois qu’il jouait, tel un aimant avec des objets métalliques. Un véritable tour de force ! Il s’agissait pourtant d’un parfait inconnu (au moins pour moi) portant un nom bizarre, Marquise Knox. Je l’ai d’abord entendu “de loin”, je fus immédiatement comme hypnotisé par le son de sa guitare, par son touché exceptionnel (sans médiator) avant de découvrir sa voix, et quelle voix ! il a fallu me frayer un chemin au milieu de cette foule regroupée autour de cet adolescent noir déjà assez costaud. Je dois vous avouer que je suis resté un bon moment à l’écouter complètement sous le charme. Quelle découverte ! Pour attirer autant de monde, vous devez vous imaginer que Marquise Knox est guitariste démonstratif qui étale sa technique à longueur de solo, qui fait des cabrioles pour épater la galerie, vous faites fausse route, Marquise Knox est tout l’inverse, il jouait généralement seul, assis sur une chaise avec juste sa voix et sa guitare (et parfois un harmonica), il ne balançait pas des soli pyrotechniques et des cascades de notes à n’en plus finir, mais des notes bien choisies jouées avec doigté, feeling et sensibilité, sa superbe technique étant toujours au service des morceaux, sa musique est à la fois simple et dépouillée mais d’une richesse extraordinaire, qui va à l’essentiel, qui touche droit au cœur, forte et émouvante, c’est du vrai blues quoi !

(voir la suite de cet article de 2008 sur : www.docteurblues.com/wordpress/?p=791)

url : http://marquiseknox.com

url : http://www.myspace.com/marquiseknox

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PAF : 20€

Eddie Turner vient d’être nominé parmi les cinq meilleures chansons au 10th Annual Independent Music Awards (http://www.independentmusicawards.com/imanominee/10th/Song/Blues)

“Otherworldly”, “scorching”, “polyrhythmic” and “chilling” have all been used to describe Eddie Turner’s guitar playing. His ethereal style is an amalgam of the Afro-Cuban rhythms of his heritage and the music that influenced him as a teenager: Chicago blues, jazz, r&b and psychedelic rock. The Cuban-born singer/guitarist cut his teeth in several rock bands contributing what Slate magazine describes as “spacey-yet-resounding solos.” Now he emerges for the first time as his own bandleader on Rise, which arrives in stores in February, 2005

Eddie “devilboy  » Turner picked up his first guitar, a candy apple multi-pickup Japanese Tiesco, when he was twelve. Raised in Chicago, he moved to the Rockies in the early 70’s to attend the University of Colorado; “a ruse,” he says, “to get my parents to keep sending checks.” More inspired by music than by academia, Turner immersed himself in the local scene, and stints with some notable acts ensued. He played in the region’s first punk/r&b band The Immortal Nightflames, then with Grammy nominees Tracy Nelson, Mother Earth, and the 4-nikators, a group which has become legendary for its unique mix of soul, Motown, and rock. Turner got the chance to grab at the brass ring when Colorado compadre Tommy Bolin left his band Zephyr to form The James Gang and Deep Purple. He eagerly joined the hard rock, psychedelic, blues band as a guitarist, singer and songwriter. But, tragedy struck with the sudden death of Zephyr lead singer Candy Givens. Deeply shaken, Eddie decided to “grow up” by taking a hiatus from performing music to become a realtor in Denver.

Yet, some people just refuse to “grow up”. A decade later, when Eddie was invited to join the Ron Miles electric band led by one of the country’s premier trumpeteers, he jumped at the chance. Then, in 1995 he rounded out the Otis Taylor Band adding what Guitar Player magazine describes as “otherworldly atmospherics (which) lend a decidedly cosmic ambience to Taylor’s sound.” Enhancing the spice and flavor of the trio, Eddie recorded five groundbreaking CDs, and toured the U.S. and Europe extensively.

Today, Turner evolves as an artist with his first solo effort, Rise. Produced by Kenny Passarelli, Rise showcases Eddie’s vocals and songwriting. Running the gamut from blistering guitar rock to the gospel-tinged, the 12-song disc dazzles with the chops and techniques Turner has developed over the course of his unusual, genre-melding career. Rise is evolutionary music – and quite grown up, indeed.

URL : www.eddiedevilboy.com/

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Frenk van Meeteren est un musicien polyvalent apprécié des amateurs de blues. Il organise régulièrement des ateliers d’harmonica. L’homme, aux centaines de chansons de blues, va du ragtime au style côte ouest. Frenk est un musicien professionel ayant une formation orchestrale. Il joue de plusieurs instruments et a accompagné de nombreux orchestres au Pays-Bas (King’s Galliard, The Crooks et The Gang Busters). Il a plusieurs émissions de radio et est chargé de cours d’harmonica au Koorenhuis à La Haye.

Frenk van Meeteren is een veelzijdig muzikant die bij bluesliefhebbers zeer gewaardeerd wordt door de bluesharp workshops die hij regelmatig geeft. De man met de honderden bluesteksten, van ragtime tot westcoast. Frenk is beroepsmuzikant en heeft een orkestopleiding gevolgd. Hij bespeelt diverse instrumenten en heeft in zijn loopbaan met verschillende groepen opgetreden in ons land, maar ook ver daarbuiten, zoals de folkgroep King’s Galliard, The Crooks en The Gangbusters. Hij heeft diverse radio-uitzendingen verzorgd en is als docent mondharmonica verbonden aan het Koorenhuis te Den Haag. Frenk is de frontman van de band.

www.frenklocals.web-log.nl/

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John Primer

John Primer est né le 3 mai 1946 à Camden dans l’État du Mississippi.

Il débuta au club Theresa’s de Chicago (entre 1974 et 1980, il y sera très influencé par Sammy Lawhorn qui lui apprendra à jouer de la slide guitare) avant de joindre le Chicago Blues All-Stars de Willie Dixon en 1979, puis le groupe de Muddy Waters jusqu’à la mort de ce dernier en 1983. Puis il fit partie des Teardrops de Magic Slim et débuta une carrière solo.

Il a obtenu le Living Blues Award en août 2010.

url : www.johnprimerblues.com

John Primer

“The Real Deal”

As the title of his critically acclaimed Atlantic Record CD suggests, Grammy Award and Handy Award Nominee, John Primer is truly “The Real Deal.” At eight years old, John borrowed his first guitar and stated to strum.  With the sounds of Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Little Milton, Elmore James, B.B. & Albert King reverberating through his Grandmother Laura Nell’s tube radio, John was instantly hooked.  He was fascinated with Blues music and set forth on a life long path of becoming a musical force.  Early inspiration came from his family steeped in spiritual, gospel, and church, and went on to play at house parties and fish fry’s in and around his hometown of Camden, Mississippi.

At the age of eighteen, feeling restless and in search of further audiences, John followed the path of his mentors and migrated to Chicago in the fall of 1963.  He quickly found work in the era when modern Electric Blues and the West and South Sides sounds were first taking shape.  Forming his first band The Maintainers in 1964, John and his old Harmony guitar rocked such West Side clubs as The Place, The Bow Tie, and Lover’s Lounge.  By 1968 John had left The Maintainers when the opportunity arouse to front the Soul and R&B group The Brotherhood.  Jamming late into the night and practicing by day, John was forming his own unique style and expanding his repertoire.  John’s success would lead him in 1974 to replace John Watkins in the house band at the world famous Theresa’s Lounge on the South Side.  Over the course of the next five years, John would play with such originators as Sammy Lawhorn, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Smokey Smothers, Lonnie Brooks, and a host of other innovators sculpting the sound of the Chicago Blues scene.

It was during this part in John’s career that quite a few people were taking note of this outstanding performer.  In 1979, master songwriter and bassist Willie Dixon persuaded him to join his band The Chicago All Stars.  Traveling through the US, Mexico and Europe, John developed his skills as a rhythm guitarist, a lead slide player, and a powerful singer.  Another Blues master who believed in John Primer was none other than the “Hoochie Coochie Man” himself, Muddy Waters.  Muddy recruited John not only as a guitarist, but also as an opening act.  As he did with so many other great musicians, Muddy served as a father to John, instilling in him an unrelenting passion for the music that gave birth to Rock and Roll.  John stayed loyal to Muddy until his untimely death in 1983.

Fresh off the heels of his success with the Muddy Waters Band, John signed on with the legendary Magic Slim.  For the next fourteen years, he toured with Magic Slim & The Teardrops, bringing tight, house rocking sounds to every corner of the planet.  But John’s days as a sideman were numbered, and in 1995 the veteran Blues man released his major label debut “The Real Deal”.  He has since toured extensively in support of his ten solo albums to date.  With John Primer’s strong traditionalist Blues phrasing and lightning fast slide technique, few artists can match him.  A master storyteller and songwriter, his catalog of songs is endless and his sound is unforgettable.  John Primer & The Real Deal Blues Band continues to electrify audiences at clubs and festivals, and remain a driving force in the world of Blues music today.

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Big Will & the Bluesmen

Big Will & the Bluesmen laten zich inspireren door een tweetal stromingen, die eigenlijk in elkaars verlengde liggen.

Allereerst de deltastijl. De oerwortels van de blues liggen in Mississippi in het begin van de twintigste eeuw.
 De slavernij is dan weliswaar afgeschaft, de zwarte plattelandsbevolking is straatarm en is veelal werkzaam op het land.
De avonden worden veelal doorgebracht in zogeheten jukejoints, primitieve kroegen waar eigengestookte whiskey wordt geschonken en waar de ellende van het zwarte arbeidersbestaan wordt bezongen in eenvoudige maar krachtige liederen. Meestal begeleid door een gitaar en / of mondharmonica en als onderwerp de  mislukte liefde en de drank als troost.
 Son House is een bekende rondreizende muzikant in de twintiger en dertiger jaren. Soms alleen maar ook met vrienden als Big Joe Williams trekt hij door het deltagebied om er te spelen voor een fooi of een glas whiskey.
 In navolging van Son House en mannen als Tampa Red, Leadbelly en Charley Patton komt er in de jaren dertig een nieuwe generatie bluesmannen in beeld.
Jongemannen zoals Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines en Sonny Boy Williamson verfijnen de bluesmuziek en zijn, in tegenstelling tot hun voorgangers, meer muzikant dan landarbeider.

url : http://www.bigwill.nl/